Thomas Ernest Pearce (19 February 1883 – 19 December 1941) was a British businessman and member of the

Legislative Council of Hong Kong The Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, colloquially known as LegCo, is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Hong Kong. It sits under People's Republic of China, China's "one country, two systems" c ...

. Pearce was born on 19 February 1883. His father, Rev. Thomas William Pearce, O.B.E,

LL.D. A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

spent nearly half a century working in China as a missionary and translator, and was closely associated with the educational development in Hong Kong. Pearce went to boarding school in Blackheath, South London, from 1896 to 1899; he attended the School for the Sons of Missionaries, the predecessor of

Eltham College Eltham College is a private day school situated in Mottingham, southeast London. Eltham and Mottingham once formed part of the same parish, hence its name. It is a member of The Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference (HMC). Early history ...

, where he excelled in cricket and rugby. When in 1912 the school moved to its current site, in Mottingham, South London, Pearce donated the Blackheath Cup, which is still awarded for all-round sporting excellence. After joining trading company J. D. Hutchison & Co. in 1903, Pearce acquired a controlling share in the company from John Duflon Hutchison in 1917. He took into partnership with P. S. Cassidy in 1922 and set up a branch office in Canton in 1929 which ceased to operate in 1941. He was also director and chairman of the

Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation HSBC Holdings plc ( zh, t_hk=滙豐; initialism from its founding member The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation) is a British universal bank and financial services group headquartered in London, England, with historical and business li ...

and many other public companies. Pearce was made Justice of the Peace in 1921 and was appointed member of the Court of the

University of Hong Kong The University of Hong Kong (HKU) is a public research university in Pokfulam, Hong Kong. It was founded in 1887 as the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese by the London Missionary Society and formally established as the University of ...

in 1929. He was also appointed member of the

Legislative Council A legislative council is the legislature, or one of the legislative chambers, of a nation, colony, or subnational division such as a province or state. It was commonly used to label unicameral or upper house legislative bodies in the Brit ...

in March 1939 until Japan invaded Hong Kong in 1941. He was a member of the Hong Kong Defence Reserve. During the

Battle of Hong Kong The Battle of Hong Kong (8–25 December 1941), also known as the Defence of Hong Kong and the Fall of Hong Kong, was one of the first battles of the Pacific War in World War II. On the same morning as the attack on Pearl Harbor, forces of the ...

, he was killed in the fight alongside the Volunteers' Special Guard Company nicknamed the Hugheseliers and the Methuseliers consisting of group of older men to defend the

North Point Power Station North Point Power Station () was a power station in Hong Kong located on Electric Road in North Point and near Fortress Hill, to the west side of where the City Garden housing estate is now located. It was built to replace the inadequate Wan Ch ...

. Pearce was a sportsman and played cricket for Hong Kong. He was also the chairman of the

Hong Kong Jockey Club The Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) was founded in 1884 and is one of the oldest institutions in Hong Kong. In 1960, it was granted a royal charter and renamed The Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club (). The institution reverted to its original name in 19 ...

from 1940 to 1941. He had two sons, Thomas Alexander Pearce and J. L. C. Pearce. Thomas Alexander Pearce was also a professional cricketer.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pearce, Thomas Ernest 1883 births 1941 deaths British military personnel killed in World War II Hong Kong businesspeople CK Hutchison Holdings Chairmen of HSBC Members of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong Hong Kong people of World War II People from Blackheath, London